Hide and Seek

What councils can do to help water voles

The second pic down shows sympathetic management if the Staggs Brook banks by North Shropshire District Council. Just the very top edge of the vegetation's been strimmed, near the path, and the rest left alone to provide cover for the water voles. NSDC also avoid using chemicals such as pesticides near the water.

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Finally managed to get a couple of clear photos of the voles living by White Lion Meadow car park currently. I've been trying for a fortnight now, and only getting flashes of tail disappearing under water, or nose being withdrawn into burrow. I was beginnning to wonder whether these were 'imported' voles from futher upstream who weren't used to the noise. Picture three shows clearly the splayed toes that leave the distinctive starry prints, and picture four, the furry brown tail.

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The last photo is of more feeding signs - floating bits of leaf, chopped at an angle. Geese and other water birds leave sections of reed lying in the water like this, but the clue that this is vole and not our resident mallard is the 45% cut.

View from a bridge

I noticed this evening that the trackway I photographed last night had been turned into a feeding station - note the lengths of chopped reed lying about half-way up. Did log a sighting but it was this lunchtime, and once again, no picture.
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While I'm here, can I say how nice it is to chat to all the people who come and talk to me and ask questions while I'm watching for voles on the bridge. *waves*

A vole and a trackway

Again, not a fantastic picture of a water vole, but all these photos on this blog are for records only. The trackway immediately above is another kind of field sign to look out for.

Two voles

They weren't for coming out and posing, but I did manage to get this shot of one peeping through nettles. (It may help if you click to enlarge.)

Feeding frenzy at the Prees Branch canal

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We've been checking the Prees Branch canal religiously (thanks, Joan, Rosie and John!) but no more sign of any mink, which is excellent. I went down today and there were water vole feeding signs along the whole length - lots and lots of piles of chopped up reed, still-growing stalks cut off at an angle, plus the odd broken-into snail shell. I couldn't spot any droppings, which is a pity, because there's supposed to be some calculation whereby you can tell the number of females by counting latrines. But there's obviously a fair number of water voles along that stretch.

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I include a photo of some prints taken today at White Lion Meadow, which I'm fairly certain are w-v. Couldn't resist the picture of wild violets, either!

4 days, 4 sightings, 0 vole pictures. I don't know why they're suddenly being so shy. In desperation, I give you again the other regular inhabitant of the brook.